IN MEXICO'S STEAMING SPLENDOR, SHE LED THEM TO GOLD-AND GLORY... MARINA. Daughter of an Indian chieftain, sold as a slave by her mother, she saw her first child sacrificed to bloodthirsty gods. Converted by the Spanish, she became the woman of the Conqueror, and his fragile link to a Golden Empire... CORTES. The fierce-eyed warrior toppling pagan idols, scheming for Montezuma's throne. Fearless, cunning and arrogant, he claimed Mexico for his King - and Marina for his bed... JUAN. The gentle soldier with the sun-streaked hair and the healing powers, he bore a burden of forbidden love for the beauty possessed by Cortes.